Women comprised 45% of all new Fortune 500 board appointments in 2021, a new high, while Black directors were 26% of new appointees, a tad lower than 2020 after a surge that year, according to a report released Wednesday morning by executive search and leadership consulting firm Heidrick & Struggles.
Why it matters: The yearslong push to diversify boardrooms intensified in 2020 after companies were spurred to action in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd — and it appears to be paying off.
- With companies increasingly expected to take stands on social issues, there's an even greater need for a variety of perspectives, experts say.
By the numbers: A record 43% of all new appointees to these boards were first-time directors — a key driver of diversity.
- Overall, the percentage of women on boards has slowly risen to 29%, from 19% when Heidrick first published this report in 2015. (There was a big uptick in 2017, as the MeToo movement drew major headlines.)
- In 2009, only 5% of new board appointees were Black, according to data in the report. That number doubled to 10% by 2019 and then surged to 28% in 2020, after the social unrest of that year.
Background: Companies used to justify mostly white male boards by claiming there weren't any other options.
- It was expected that board members typically had experience as a CEO, or maybe a CFO, and had previously served on a board. Those roles were typically held by white men — so you can see the problem.
- In 2021, companies branched out, looking for executives with experience in cybersecurity and sustainability, says Lyndon Taylor, a partner at Heidrick who worked on the report.
- And a separate report, also released Wednesday morning, found that companies are increasingly placing folks with experience in human resources on boards. There are now 211 HR executives — a majority are women — on Russell 3000 boards, a big increase from 2017, according to the report from Allegis Partners.
What's next: Hispanic and Asian or Asian American directors are still heavily underrepresented at 6% and 9%, respectively. "There's work to be done," says Taylor.
Editor's note: This story was originally published on May 4.
